Pandora's Box
by crystal97
Summary: There was once an enchantress named Pandora who by the hand of a goddess was sealed into her heart in order to stop her destruction of humanity. To keep the seal strong every 400 years a female was born with the goddess's heart. Lucy unknowingly the reborn goddess is targeted by Zeref who seeks to control Pandora but is saved by Natsu, a teen who assures he is her husband. NALU.
1. Chapter 1

Crystal: I have been going through some tough times and haven't found the inspiration to type anything until today that I have been looking over through all my stories and I came up with a new NALU story. As of late I've been reading quite a few manga and romance ad I got inspired to base off this new story out of a combination of two manga I read.

Story name: Pandora's Box

Rating: 'M' for suggestive themes, future lemons, cursing, humor, etc.

Pairing(s): NALU, gruvia, gajeevy, jerza, and more

Summary: There was once an enchantress named Pandora who by the hand of a goddess was sealed into her heart in order to stop her destruction of humanity. In order to keep the seal strong every 400 years a female was born with the goddess's heart. Lucy unknowingly the reborn goddess is targeted by Zeref who seeks to control Pandora and is saved by Natsu, a teen who assures he is her husband

The goddess's heart

 _Long ago, billions of years into the past, lived an enchantress by the name of Pandora. Through the goddess of creation, Mavis, Pandora had been given life making her the first woman alive. Out of all of Mavis's creations, she adored Pandora the most and gave her an almost perfect existence. She had been blessed with extreme beauty, charm, intelligence, and so much more. She was capable of making any man fall in love with a simple look. She served almost as a punishment to men. And her greatest blessing had been to possess great magic power to control the stars by giving her twelve servants she called the Zodiac that she controlled at will._

 _But the Goddess Mavis had made a mistake. She had exposed Pandora to the human world in a time were war raged on. Pandora, after all, was still human and her heart faltered at seeing the forceful way humans obtained what they desired. She began to obtain negative feelings and a desire to possess more than what she had. She had forced the Zodiac servants to darken the skies to reduce hope in the men. She sent them to terrorize people who dared deny her of any gift she desired. She felt powerful and in control. She felt she deserves much more._

 _Vanity, lust, pride, anger, apathy, and more had begun to invade Pandora's being, and Mavis was filled with fear. Pandora began to enamor men with the only objective of seeing them fight over her to entertain her. Large wars broke out as she manipulated everyone around her if only to fufill her desire for power. Mavis had one day confronted her. Pandora had believed that Mavis was unaware of her true nature and denied any accusations made against her. Mavis was blinded by the love she had for Pandora that she ignored her deeds. But Pandora was just as cunning as she was intelligent. Soon her greatest ambition had become to one day overthrow Mavis and become herself a goddess that ruled the heaven and Earth._

 _One day as Mavis bathed, she was attacked by Pandora's twelve servants who using gold chains tried to supress her. Pandora was pleased with her loyal servants, but did not take into account one fact. Creations are only as strong as their creator wants them to be. Mavis easily broke the chains feeling betrayed. Having no other choice, Mavis punished the Zodiac servants by locking them into twelve gold keys and using them along with a powerful relic, a ruby stone,named Fairy Heart to seal Pandora into an eternal slumber inside her own heart. However Mavis could feel the heaviness of Pandora's negative emotions and feared the break of the seal. As precaution, Mavis created the female race to ease the men out of Pandora's enchantment before creating a vessel that she'd reincarnate into to keep the seal strong. They called the vessel Pandora's box._

 _If Pandora's box were to be forced open than the heart of the chosen maiden would release a plague that would kill everyone and a new era would begin with a new reincarnate goddess having the heart with the sealed Pandora. However, if the seal were to be opened with the twelve gold zodiac keys and Fairy Heart than Pandora would take over the chosen maiden's body as her own and her will and magic would belong to whoever broke the seal. Only the goddess's guardian, using their power could forever destroy Pandora and bring and end to the continued rebirth and destruction of humanity._

~~xXXx~~

"Lucy..." A voice whispered to her as if far away. A girl no older than 17 found herself floating in an empty blackness. Her ash blonde hair floated around her, her brown eyes tired and wanting to close. But a voice continued to call to her. It kept repeating her name desperately as if in panic or in need of help. It was an angelic voice urging her. "Lucy! Beware... Only you can end this...you must be the last maiden...only you", the voice urged desperately. A figure appeared before her, the one with the voice. A gorgeous woman with long wavy blonde locks and emerald eyes holding concern. "Who are you?" The blonde asked. "Our time is limited, my identity does not matter. Listen carefully, Lucy. Do not let them get the servants", she explained seriously.

"The servants? Them who? I don't understand", Lucy blinked completely bemused with comprehending what this strange woman was saying. "Don't let them... No... Don't let him have the zodiac servants, Lucy. It could be the end. Someone messed with the seal before you were born. She will escape if you do not find the goddess's guardian", the beautiful woman repeated as she began to fade. Lucy blinked confused and panic began to reach her. "Wait!" She yelled before she sat up awakening from her dream on her bed. A cold sweat was running down her face as she looked around her room to see it was daylight. "Lucy?" A soft voice spoke up as the door was opened.

"Momma Layla," she looked up at the woman who entered in a red gown with a concerned stare. "Are you okay, Lucy? I heard you thrashing in your sleep", Layla spoke softly as she sat next to her daughter that averted her gaze. If there was something she did not desire it was to worry her mother, but with the way her mother took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze told Lucy that everything would be okay. "I had a dream...or I'm not sure. It could have been a nightmare, but a woman came to me. Something about not letting a 'them' have the so called 'servants' and something about a seal and she was panicked and scared even and-" Lucy began to ramble.

"Lucy it was just a dream sweetheart. I'm sure all the fantasy books you read must have been slipping into your dreams. Now get dressed sweetie", Layla smiled, but Lucy could of sworn she saw something in flicker in her mother's eyes that was mysterious. As if she was hiding something from her. "Okay", Lucy said shaking the feeling of worry away as her mother clapped her hands smiling once more before exiting the room as two maids made their way to help her dress. Her name was Lady Lucy Heartfilia daughter of the Great Duke Jude Heartfilia an Duchess Layla Heartfilia. Today was Lucy's coming of age were every girl of nobility becomes of a marriageable age of 17. It is but a mere coincidence that the King Zeref has set up the traditional 400 year ball for all the maidens between the ages of 16 to 18 to attend today.

It is mandatory that all women fitting this description attend or it could mean execution. Lucy let herself be dressed in a fine pale pink gown with gold designs and light pink diamonds decorating the corset top. She sighed heavily. Despite her high social and economic status, she had no interest in lavish gifts or balls, but she had no choice in the matter. She suddenly glanced at her left hand. She had a strange birthmark in the shape of a heart surrounded by what seemed like a dragon's mouth. It was small but she had always wondered how such a mark could be formed almost perfectly. She was interrupted by one of the maids sliding a glove over her hand.

'I must be overthinking because of the dream', Lucy thought as she stepped in her heels and bid her maids good bye. She walked down the steps as needless thoughts seemed to consume her mind. She kept getting this bad feeling in the back of her mind pestering her. Like something terrible was about to take place. She saw her father and mother awaiting her as they urged her t proceed to their carriage towards the castle. "Now, Lucy, be on your best behavior tonight. Remember that you are a Heartfilia and must act like your title. "As you wish, father. Do not be concerned and let your mind be at ease", the blonde spoke with ease.

She knew exactly what her father wanted to hear. Her father smiled pleased with her proper response as the blonde glanced towards her mother who seemed to be in deep thought. Not wanting to question or unnerve her mother she herself retrieved a book she always kept below the carriage seat and began to read. But upon inspecting it, she realized it was not her book. It was a red leather bound book with gold thick letters for the title. "Pandora", she muttered. "Wha?!" Layla suddenly asked startled. "Uh... I said 'oh, Nora'. The character from my book", Lucy lied clearly shaken by her mother's outburst.

Layla looked a bit unsure, but returned to look out the window once more. Lucy quietly opened the book as she began to read about the powerful enchantress named Pandora. She was so engrossed in the book she didn't realize and hour later that the carriage came to a stop. Lucy had jus gotten to the part of a reincarnation of a great goddess every 400 years. "Lucy, leave the book. We've arrived, child", her father scolded her as she shut the book and left it under the seat again. As she stepped down a shiver crawled up her arm seeing the royal soldiers give her these strange glances. She couldn't comprehend it, but she could of sworn she saw lust in their gazes.

She walked faster behind her parens as many families had lined up to enter. They were mainly barons and earls and so Lucy's family was escorted to the front as her family was of a higher class of nobility than them. Upon entrance she found many of the ladies dancing with young men. But a silence took place as the young men averted their attention to Lucy leaving their partner's mid dance to approach her with the same glances as the soldiers from before. Her parents had wandered about leaving her alone. Not even saying a word some of them grasped her arm tightly and some tried to hold her waist. And it seemed that no one seemed aware of the harassment taking place. "Let go!" She demanded firmly as she tried pushing away. "I said let go!" She yelled managing to push past them and bumped harshly against someone.

The blonde huffed as she looked up. She paled considerably and judging by the gold crown on a handsome young man who looked no older than 21 with black hair and intense blood red eyes, she had just bumped into the king. Lucy curtsied immediately a gloved hand at her heart. "Your majesty! Please forgive me!" She almost squeaked if it wasn't for her quick speech reflexes kicking in. "Do not apologize. I was saw the whole ordeal take place. I believe Lady Lucy Heartfilia asked to be left alone. Do make haste to abide by her wishes", he responded so calmly, but his eyes showed such anger that she saw the noblemen pale and rush away.

"You're just the spitting image of Duchess Heartfilia. But please do honor this humble man with a dance", Zeref smiled with a bow as he stretched his hand out. Lucy blushed as everyone stared at her with amazement that the king himself had requested to dance with her. "It is a great honor", she responded taking his hand. He led her onto the floor as a beautiful melody began to play. "What do you think about this whole system, Lady Lucy?" Zeref suddenly asked her as they danced. "System, your majesty?" The blonde questioned. How strange for the king to be concerned with what she thought of anything. "This whole hierarchy. Isn't it quite meaningless? Even some nobles have higher rank than others, quite absurd", The king sighed looking around.

Lucy remained quiet very intrigued on the king's thoughts on the matter such as ranking. He looked at her and smiled almost sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you have you are very comfortable in your current rank", he stated almost as if losing interest in her. "On the contrary your highness, I completely agree with you. Social status means nothing to me. It is quite absurd as you say for I only have a title, but other than that I am just Lucy. An equal to anyone else. I have no interest in a life of luxury or balls such as these. I for one would much rather be at home reading", she responded almost angrily for the king's assumption that she was vain.

His eyes seemed to shine as curiosity and amusement shone through. "I admire and respect your honesty, Lady Lucy. You are very different and interesting, but I a not quite so liberal in the sense of being equal. Don't you think people are nothing but pawns waiting to be at my disposal as king? For I only see people trying to get on my good side. Offering their daughters to their young king and bearing gifts. People are pawns, Lady Lucy. I will use them as I see fit. The hierarchy is absurd in my opinion because in the end it is only I who truly have the power", he whispered as she flinched under his hold.

Lucy felt anger consume her, but she wasn't about to give him he benefit to anger her so he simply smiled, a gesture that clearly caught Zeref off guard. "How charming you are, your highness. It is almost amusing that you think of people that way. Let me remind you that this kingdom may be in your hands, but its people are not your toys. I for one am not a pawn in your games. I have a will and I have strength. I bare with such posh and opulence if only to ease my parent's minds of feeling embarrassment. But as I said before I'd rather not be part of anything that has to do with the crown. And as long as this world has hope, I won't succumb to anyone or anything", she finished by curtsying and giving a smile.

"Thank you for the dance, Lady Lucy", Zeref grinnd making a shiver run down her spine. She nodded stepping away to meet with her parents who seemed to be having lively conversation with the other nobles. Lucy had no friends and so she could do nothing but stand idle beside her parents. Soon the music was stopped as the king called for a soldier who presented a box to him. He retrieved a stone from inside, a ruby shaped like a heart with gold pieces encasing its sides. "Each maiden shall present themselves before me. What I hold is an ancient relic who will react to one of them. The one to make the relic react will be chosen as my bride", he announced.

If anything, the nobles were eager and excited as they urged the young women. "I don't like this", Layla muttered worriedly to Jude. Lucy was even surprised that her father seemed to find her mother's same sentiment. "I know, but Lucy mist abide by the king's wish. Go on, Lucy", Jude gently nudged her. One by one sighs of disappointment were heard by the rejected girls and the blonde had looked to see her parents position themselves at the front to see. It was finally Lucy's turn. Her heart was going miles fast as she seemed to feel her body shake. Zeref gave her a light smile. It seemed he didn't expect much, but he liked her.

Finding no reaction, Lucy almost sighed in relief before she felt her heart pulsate too harshly. Se felt she was running out of breath. Her eyes widened seeing the ruby glowing brightly and shaking in Zeref's hand. She was suddenly in a trance, her eyes dulling as she seemed to lose her sense of self, but she began to fight it as everyone was beginning to be filled with fear. "I've found you, reincarnate goddess, or should I say Pandora's box. To think that I was planning on wiping out humanity and sparing you and Pandora's box, but to find out that you two are one and the same is convenient. Come to me", he called out. "Wiping out humanity. That girl..Pandora's box?!" The nobles around began to panic and run, but Zeref blocked the doors with a barrier as he used black magic on people causing them to fall to slumber.

Lucy's body began to walk on its own, but she tried fighting against it once more as she fell to her knees feeling as if her heart was trying to rip. 'You are no match for me', a voice whispered in Lucy's head as she shook the pounding voice away. "Painful, isn't it? Don't fight it or you'll be in much more pain, Lady Lucy", Zeref grinned. "What..are you...doing to...me?" She gasped trying to breathe. "You shouldn't be concerned with that, Lady Lucy", Zeref began to walk towards her before a light flashed as someone yelled "Gate of the goat, I open thee, Capricorn!" As said figure resembling a goat man appeared in front of Lucy. Zeref's head whipped to the source of the voice. Lucy fell over heaving looking to see her mother run in front of her as well. "Now this is even more unexpected. Duchess Layla Heartfilia, the guardian of the zodiac servants. You have just about doomed your own daughter", Zeref grinned.

"You will not have my daughter! Capricorn, go!" Layla yelled as Capricorn ran forward with fist up. Lucy was so confused, shocked, scared and all she wanted was to find out what the hell was going on. Zeref summoned a book in his hand and let it on the floor to transform into a man with black locks tied in a pony tail. "Lord Zeref, I am honored to be summoned as on of the demons from your books", he spoke with admiration. "Mard Geer, get the girl at any cost", Zeref commanded as Mard Geer smiled and jumped forward easily kicking Capricorn out of the way until he disappeared in a glow of light. Layla reached to pull another key, but was kicked back as well with a terrible force. She tried crawling her way to Lucy unwilling to let anyone hurt her.

Mard Geer summoned large thorned vines that bound Layla as another wrapped itself around Lucy. He smirked pleased that he had fulfilled the wish of his master. "L-Lucy...no", Layla squeaked as tears poured down her face. "M-Mom", Lucy muttered weakly, but just before she was at Zeref's reach a breaking of glass was heard and the whole area was engulfed in fire. Mard Geer looked around to see that the blonde was nowhere in sight. Until he saw a blur move straight in front of him. A teen around 19 standing with a now unconcious Lucy in his arms. His pink hair was in a spiked style and his emerald eyes glared at the demon before him. "Natsu?" Zeref suddenly said startled.

The teen turned to Zeref with a grin. "You were close to obtaining her, but I won't be handing her over any time soon", Natsu chuckled. "Just get her far from here already!" Layla suddenly yelled. The pink head turned to Layla with hesitation. "Layla, what about you?" He asked. To leave her behind would make him a coward. "You know your duty! I'll be fine...just keep her safe", she smiled as she held back her tears. She manged to throw five keys through wiggling her hands to the vines despite the thorns cutting into her skin. He caught them with ease still not pleased with the idea of leaving her behind but after tightened his lips he nodded resigned. He jumped forward towards a window giving one final glance to Layla. "You will not escape!" Mard Geer yelled as he sent his vines towards them, but they were suddenly cut by the appearance of a man holding pairs of scissors. "Great job, Cancer", Layla grinned holding tightly onto Cancer's key as she saw Natsu safely exit with Lucy.

She felt relief as she breathed in heavily from exhustion. A shock suddenly went through her body as black magic seemed to be sucking the life out of her. She gave a cry of pain as Zeref had walked towards her anger evident in his face. "Stupid wench! You ruined everything, but at least you have the keys to open the seal. Give them to me", he muttered darkly. She chuckled despite the excruciating pain she was feeling. "I won't let you have them. Five are safe with Natsu and as for the rest", she paused as her body began to glow. The remaining seven keyes floated in front of them as with a sudden burst of speed they shot out in different directions. "No!" Zeref yelled as he saw the keys flash past his grasp. Layla slumped forward. 'It's all up to you, Natsu. Protect my Lucy', she thought to herself before exhaustion took over and she blacked out.

Crystal: Opinions? I don't know if I should continue this. I been trying to get my head to work. I have a terrible writer's block at the moment. Also I know grammar and structure, and maybe details will be terrible since I typed this on my phone at 3 am lol


	2. My Husband!

Crystal: Well it's been some time since I put this specific story up and decided that I needed to update this now! Sorry for the wait and here's the chapter

My Husband?!

Lucy felt herself floating. It was the only way she could describe the sensation. Well maybe it actually wasn't like that. She only felt as though she wasn't on the ground, but she had an unpleasant feeling at her waist as if she'd been laying incorrectly that made her waist slightly hurt. She blinked awake, her eye fluttering open until the events from before filled her mind. Was she being taken captive? She couldn't let herself be taken. Now that she was awake she was more aware of the galloping taking place in which she could only assume she was also on a horse.

She wasn't about to let herself be damsel in distress. She always felt irritated when reading books were most female protagonist put themselves in needless danger and then didn't even have the strength or knowledge to defend themselves. She decided she wasn't going to be same. She didn't even know what happened to her mom and by the looks of the area it seemed they weren't in the kingdom of Alvarez.

'It's now or never!' she urged herself as she took the chance to suddenly wriggle wildly in the hands of whoever was taking her. She managed to hit said male in the face who cursed under his breath. "Fuck! Ouch", the man mumbled as he let her go suddenly making her fall on her bottom. She was frozen in place as he regained his strength and slid off the horse. 'Idiot, don't just sit here, run!' she finally got her thoughts together as she swiftly picked herself up and ran.

"Hey, where are you going?!" he called out to her seemingly worried, but she continued to run that is before the wave of flames blocked her way. She was going to run in a separate direction, but the flames had spread to form a perfect circle around her. She gulped heavily, knowing well she had messed up her only chance of escape and that she was at the complete mercy of the man who she finally saw clearly as he passed by the brush of tree.

She felt herself blush. This man was quite handsome and even his garments were that of nobility. His hair was of such a vibrant color she'd never seen before. It was pink and styled in a spiked fashion. His face had sharp eyes of the most beautiful emerald she'd ever seen. He looked at her with relief and wondered why he didn't seem angry at her for trying to escape. As he finally got to her the flames extinguished. "What do you want from me? Why is the king trying to take me?" she questioned him, her voice shaky with fear. At that, he looked at her knowingly, finally understanding something.

"Oh you have misunderstood something, Lady Lucy. I have actually saved you from being in the hands of king Zeref. I just need you to promise you won't be escaping once more so that I may fully explain the situation just as your mother was going to before she was taken captive" he explained cautiously. She perked up suddenly at the mention of her mother. "Wait captive? What's going to happen to her?!" she begged to know.

"Again please calm down, Lady Lucy. I will explain everything", he said as he motioned for her to follow him. Having no other choice, she nodded as he guided her back to their said transportation. Her eyes widened realizing that the horse was blue. "Excuse me, but has that stallion always been of that strange color", she questioned shocked. He ignored her as he lifted himself up onto the strange creature and offered his hand to her. She took it gratefully, as she accommodated herself sideways since her slightly tattered gown was in the way.

"Well Happy here is originally a cat. However, since you must not be very familiar with such matters, I'll tell you now that magic is very much existing in this era. Its usage is only forbidden in Alvarez. However, where we are headed, magic is a style of living", said stranger which she realized she still hadn't asked his name explained. "Magic? Certainly you must jest, sir or duke, perhaps?" she questioned leading to asking him his name. The handsome stranger seemed to be debating something before he drew in a breath. "Magic does exist, Lady Lucy. You saw it before your eyes in the King Zeref's castle and when I blocked your escape", he finally said still not answering to reveal his identity.

Lucy nodded still feeling overwhelmed by even just a little information he revealed. "Please, do tell me who you are. I cannot trust someone who knows of me but is not willing to reveal himself in reciprocation. I'd also like to know where it is we are headed for", she pouted slightly and it seemed as though he gave up from the soft sigh he gave. "Yes, that is quite unfair. But if you must know I am Natsu Dragneel, king of the country of Ishgar", he explained. Her eyes widened immediately as she tried to excuse her earlier behavior.

"Oh, what honor, please excuse my rude behavior from before", she muttered. "Please, don't change your attitude, Lady Lucy. I refrained from revealing myself for the same reason. I'd like to be acquainted with you since we shall be doing much traveling together", he explained and she could of sworn he blushed. "Very well. I wouldn't want to against your wishes, but since you have given me such liberty then might as well not to refer to me as Lady Lucy. I very much dislikes titles and since I will not be in my own country just call me Lucy and I shall call you Natsu", she smiled as he seemed taken aback by her sudden boldness.

He nodded almost bashfully since well he couldn't dare tell her what that meant in his country, but then again he had to explain to her or she could end up in many misunderstandings with others. However, he liked the sound of the naming. She squealed when she finally saw the huge town spread before her and the enormous castle in the middle of it all. She was in awe at the magic that pervaded the whole town as even the small children seemed to know how to perform small tricks with it. "Amazing", she sighed as her eyes lighted up and Natsu couldn't help, but smile at her child like excitement.

She was so refreshing in comparison to others he'd met before. A completely different woman as well. She was shy when greeted by the townspeople who welcomed her warmly. However, they were suddenly attacked by a group of men when a small girl was giving Lucy a flower. "Such a pretty lady", one of them muttered huskily as they tried pulling her off the horse. She held tightly onto Happy as another pulled at her leg. "Release her at once!" Natsu's voice boomed as the men seemed to retract as if coming out of a trance.

"P-Please e-excuse us, Your Majesty! We d-don't know w-what we were doing", they mumbled in fear. "Do not fret. All is well", he nodded to them as they nodded in appreciation and stumbled away. "It seems the situation is much worse than I expected", Natsu mumbled almost to himself as Lucy wondered what that could possibly mean for her. The male slapped the reins on Happy who sped through the town quickly riding past the gates of the castle. He urged the blonde to get off all while refraining from making contact with anyone as he pulled her into one of the rooms.

"What's going on?" she questioned a bit scared. "Look, it seems that you are in much more danger than your mother and I had expected", he mumbled as he guided her to a chair and sat across from her. "What situation?" she asked. "You read the book, right?" he questioned her seriously.

"What book?" she blinked in confusion. "Before you headed of, in the carriage you rode. I switched out a book you had under the seat without your mother's knowledge. Pandora", he explained as she seemed to suddenly recall the name. "So you put it there? The one about that enchantress and the goddess who sealed her? But in what way is she relevant?" the blonde mused. "Look, as very extravagant and far-fetched as this must sound you have to believe what I'm about to tell you. Alright?" he muttered very gently.

She seemed nervous, but nodded after a few seconds. "It is of my knowledge that you, Lucy, are that goddess reincarnated every four hundred years. And as you know from the book you've read, you as the goddess's reincarnation are known as Pandora's box", he began to say motioning with his finger to where her heart should be. Her eyes widened then. He couldn't be serious, right? There was no way she could be that goddess or any goddess in general. Lucy didn't want to believe it, but she had promised him that she'd listen and given that she'd promised to believe him, she decided to take his words into consideration.

"I know it is very overwhelming, but I only speak the truth", he voiced as if making a vow. "So what does King Zeref want with me. Is it because I'm this so called goddess? Does he want something with me as Pandora's box?" she questioned. "By the looks of it, you must not have managed to read the whole book, but I shall explain what would happen if in any case Pandora's seal would be released", he hummed in thought.

"It could go two ways if the seal is broken. If it is tampered with and forced to open, a plague will escape from your heart killing you instantly and wiping out humanity along with you thereby leading to a repetition of history until it is properly opened or disposed of. However, if opened with the ancient relic of Fairy Heart and the 12 golden keys, Pandora will escape and have complete control of your body and use it as her own. Tragic enough, she will be forced to serve whoever opens the seal. King Zeref, wants this power because he wishes to wipe out humanity using Pandora's great sorcery magic that is almost an equal to that of the goddess", Natsu began to explain very cautiously as if fearing she would overreact.

So regardless of what kind of meddling was done with her, then she'd be a goner regardless. Her eyes wanted to tear up. Why had she been the one chosen for this fate. She felt lightheaded by the situation as she rose hand to rub at her temple. She felt a hand grasp her free one as she looked up to find Natsu looking at her with such a gentle expression. "Rest assure, Lucy, my purpose is to protect you. I live for you. It is my duty and I will take it on fully even at the cost of my life", he whispered reassuringly.

"But how can a king like yourself devote his life to a simple noble woman like myself. I am not princess and you do not know me", she muttered as her eyes finally gave way to a wave of tears. "You may not remember, but we have met. We've met when we were just children. Your mother was well aware of your situation and my father had known that you were the one we were looking for", he explained with a light smile.

Although she blushed then, she still felt sort of disappointed when he'd said it was only because of duty. He wasn't doing it because she was someone he treasured even if they had met. He was given that mission even when he was younger. So what was the difference between protecting someone out of responsibility to forcing someone to guard her? Every step of the conversation, it seemed she was becoming more like a helpless woman needing to be protected. "I don't need anyone to protect me", she whispered voice barely audible.

"I'm not doing this because it's my responsibility, if that is what you are thinking. I wish to protect you. Do not frown as such. I much rather see you smiling", he explained as she looked up in shock at his words. "So how does my mother know of this?" She quickly changed the topic in embarrassment as he seemed to recall he was still in the middle of trying to simplify the situation for her.

"Ah, you see your mother is what they call the Zodiac guardian. The twelve keys in which Pandora's servants were sealed in were entrusted to your mother to avoid them from falling into the wrong hands. She is one of the three people able to use them and of course, one of the three the servants will obey. You, are their priority and exist to be of your service. I am the third person able to control them because I too have a purpose for my existence. The part of the prophecy which is only known by few", he breathed as he sat back in his chair.

"Wait I have sort of recalled a dream I had. A women of blond locks and Jade colored eyes appeared before me. She was desperate and said I had to be the last 'maiden' and that I should not let 'him' have the 'zodiac servants'. She said something about the seal having been tampered with before I was born and that I had to find the goddess's guardian", she explained in thought. "That was the goddess speaking to you", Natsu deadpanned as the blonde looked taken aback.

"She is, of course, correct. The seal had been tampered with before you were born and as a result, if we do not collect all twelve zodiac keys then the seal will be broken regardless. Pandora will not have a master to control her and she will only bring misfortune and destruction. Which is why we will take the time now to train you here at the castle before we set out on our journey with a few of my most trusted friends", he continued to say. "I understand. So is that why the men from before attacked me? They didn't seem to remember what they were doing", the blonde motioned as she leaned her hands on the table before them.

"That is correct. Pandora was known to captivate and seduce men to abide to her whims like the perfect slaves. In your case, the seal is slowly releasing Pandora and as of now you are realizing a heavy load of pheromones that make any man unable to resist you", Natsu blushed slightly at having to say such embarrassing situation. The blonde also felt herself blush as she sat back awkwardly. "Oh, I see, then how are you able t-to uh…r-resist me t-then?" She mumbled in curiosity.

"It has both to do with what I am to you and slightly because of some magic I used to repel those pheromones", he mumbled sheepishly. "What you are to me?" She mused as her eyes blinked in confusion. "Like I said there is another part of the prophecy. That I wanted to explain to you", he coughed trying to compose himself after revealing such shameful actions on his part.

"You see the goddess is known as the goddess of life and she was destroyed by Pandora's betrayal that she escaped the heavens to mourn on Earth in the form of a human woman. There she met a man who without hesitance comforted her despite not knowing why she was so saddened. Little did she know, that he was the god of death in disguise trying to deceive her so he could rule the heavens instead of her. She fell in love without a second thought until he finally revealed his intentions to her and attempted to take her life", he almost said as if he himself were recalling the event.

The blonde was puzzled by it, but remained silent to continue listening. "She escaped and promised herself that she'd never be deceived or hurt again and almost decided to kill herself, but she was stopped by another man. He was an actual human in the flesh. He had fallen in love with the goddess at first sight and convinced her to stay alive. For days, she didn't speak or eat, but the man did everything in his power to ease her sadness. And slowly but surely, she began to accept his advances and even helped him out at his farm. And before she knew it, she had fallen in love with him", he continued as the blonde wanted to cry at such a sad story.

"The god of death, no later, found them and threaten to kill her beloved if she did not return to him. At the time, she revealed herself as the goddess of life to the man she loved in hopes that he would hate her for having deceived him, but he simply smiled at her and said he cared not of that, but of their love. She explained the situation about Pandora in which he promised to protect her and the seal of her heart. The god of death was angered when she did not return and went to confront them. He was a magic user and with all his might defended his beloved until he was killed before her eyes. He had promised that if she were to give him as many lives, he'd love her for all eternity and would live to protect her", his voice had reached a whisper then.

Lucy wondered why he sounded so sad. "Are you alright, Natsu?" she questioned gently as he nodded to her with a sad smile. "Yeah. She had asked if he'd be willing to be with her forever and when he had not even hesitated to say yes, the goddess reached a choice then. She used a forbidden magic that clutched onto the souls of her, the god of death, and her beloved. She knew Pandora would surely escape if not continuously in a fresh vessel and so she had conjured a spell in which their souls would continue to reborn for all eternity until something was done with Pandora. The man the goddess loved was to be what you now know as the goddess's guardian. He was given power rivaling the goddess's in order to protect her reincarnated form from the hands of the god of death", he finally seemed to finish.

"The thing is that for the guardian to be able to protect Pandora's box, he must be able to love and be loved by her reincarnation. In other words, their souls have been spiritually bonded and are considered to be married. The guardian will eternally be in love with the goddess's reincarnation and will only ever be in love with her. Once he set his eyes on her for the first time, he'll know it's her. Of course, the bond is awakened once they begin they take the first step as lover which is a kiss", he finally finished his lips in a tight line. "And who might that guardian be. I d-do not like t-the idea of a s-stranger being my husband", she muttered.

"Well, please forgive me then", he had smiled sadly as he stood to walk towards her. He was suddenly very close to her and she felt her heat beat faster. "W-What are you d-doing? She questioned as her voice rose in a panic. "Lucy, I am the guardian of the goddess. And since the very moment we met, I have always been in love with you. As your husband, I will make sure to protect you with my life. Like I said before I do not do it because it is my duty to protect you, but because I love you", he explained his eyes almost seeming desperate.

"You're my husband?!" she squeaked. 'He loved her? Surely, it is not his feelings, but the feelings of the man who loved the goddess. "You don't love me. You love the goddess", she sighed. "You're wrong. It is true that I was supposed to love you, but even when I had grown up I had no sort of attachment to you when I saw you like it was said it would be. I dare say at first I found you a nuisance because I was not interested in girl or marriage at the time, but one time you came up to me and asked me to play when no one else wanted to because they deemed me dangerous and at that moment I knew I was in love", he explained suddenly bashful.

Her cheeks lighted up and she felt even guilty that she could not recall anything. "It's alright. You don't remember because your mother wanted you to live without knowing of Pandora if she could and so she erased your memories against my father's warnings that things would only complicate if she did that. You forgot about me, but I still always watched you, waiting for the moment I'd finally get to be by your side", he motioned. Her tears slipped past her cheeks as he looked at her confused.

"Why are you crying, Lucy?" he asked in confusion. "B-Because. All this time you had been waiting for me. And I can't even remember something that means so much to you", she sobbed as she wiped at her tears. He took her face in his hands, a gentle smile at his face as he wiped away her tears. "I don't like seeing you cry even if those tears are for me", he muttered as he leaned in to press their lips into a sweet kiss.

Crystal: Well…that was something. This chapter was very filler like with the whole explanation of the other side of the prophecy being explained by Natsu. If you guys are confused don't hesitate to PM me or review about any questions you have. Sorry if this chapter was sort of dumb and very quick paced, but the fact that he claims to be her husband means Natsu is already in love so please excuse if this is too fast paced. See you next time lovelies!


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